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New York City's Pennsylvania Station's Tower A
New York City, New York

Tower A was opened on November 27th 1910 and housed a Union Switch and Signal Company Model 14 interlocking machine. The machine was the largest machine used in the station and had 179 levers. Of the 4 towers at the station this is the only machine having over 100 levers; as Tower D reached 71. Tower A had 141 levers to control the 124 signals, 15 double slip switches, and 47 switches. The tower was located above the rails, later the tower was covered by the station making it seem as though the tower was located in the ceilings of the station. In the 1940’s the interlocking machine received an upgrade as the entire original wooden interlocking cabinet was replaced with the more recognized steel cabinet and steel levers replaced the original brass levers. The switch and signal indicators were also replaced from the old style of boxed lamps at the back of the machine to the modern front panels of lamps. The other 3 interlocking machines at Penn Station never got these upgrades. Tower A remained mostly intact over the years as it was busy all the time. In the 1980’s the tower was given control of Bergen Interlocking and later Portal tower was closed and remoted to Tower A. The tower was manned by two train directors, an assistant train director, and two levermen. The cutover to close Tower A started on September 30th 1994 and the tower officially closed on October 1st 1994 at 2:44 Pm. Control of Tower A was given to the new Penn Station Control Center known as (PSCC). The tower still remains today above the station tracks. The interlocking machine front has been gutted and the levers have been mostly removed. The locking bed remains intact and the circuit controllers are also intact. The model board remains above the machine and dark. Power to the tower has been cut and the lights dark. A thick layer of dust and dirt cover everything inside, over the years things have been taken apart, probably kept as keep sakes. To get to the tower you have to walk up a very narrow spiral stair case then walk a narrow catwalk that goes around the tower. To most you would never even know a tower was there, but to a few it’s an interesting place. Encased by the surrounding station and with the very busy tracks below, the tower is probably never going anywhere.


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Signal 92W greats you at the top of the spiral staircase.	The catwalk outside the tower.	Bergrn Interlocking Model Board.
Circuit Controllers.	Circuit Controllers.	Control and Indication Magnets.	Control and Indication Magnets.
Control and Indication Magnets.	Back of the Model Board.	Inside of the interlocking Machine.